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"Things I don't understand. Things I'm not certain I believe." "And what if it turns out that they're true?"
"Then I'll look forward to having you explain them to me, so I can understand."
Crese
F'Solya smiled back.
"Tell me what you've heard."
"Well," she began, "they say there was a Qirsi civil war, with both sides led by Weavers. And they say that one of the Weavers was Grinsa." "And what do they say of the other?"
"That he's dead now, but that when he lived, you were his lover as well."
A bitter smile touched Crese
"No," she said, "I wasn't his lover." She lifted a finger to her face and traced the pale, thin scars that ran along her jaw and cheek and brow. "You see these scars?"
F'Solya nodded.
"He gave these to me. I was part of his movement once. He claimed that he wanted to lead the Qirsi of the Forelands to a new, better life-I believed that he was speaking of something like what you have here. I wanted to believe that. I wanted to think that if Bryntelle grew up to be a Weaver that she could live without fearing the persecution that Weavers have endured for centuries in my land. But after a time I realized that all he wanted was power. He was an evil man, and when I turned my back on his movement, he entered my dreams and did this to me. Later, he attacked me again and… and did far worse." She shuddered, remembering it all. The wounds he inflicted upon her body and her mind, the terror of waiting for his next attack, or the next assault by one of his servants. There were times when she wondered how she had survived those long, terrifying turns. "If it wasn't for Grinsa, I'd be dead now," she said at last. "And all the Forelands would be ruled by a demon."
"The two of you fought on the side of the Eandi?"
In the Forelands, it had made perfect sense to do so. The nobles of her homeland-all of them Eandi-were flawed, to be sure, some of them deeply so. But all of those who joined the alliance against the Weaver were honorable and peace-loving. The same couldn't be said for their Qirsi enemy. Here, though, even this argument might not be enough to convince her friend that she had been right to oppose the Weaver's movement. Could a Southlands Qirsi ever justify siding with an Eandi against one of her own?
"Yes," she said at last, "we fought to preserve the Eandi courts. Many Qirsi did."
F'Solya looked troubled. "Most Qirsi here would find that hard to understand."
"I know."
The woman nodded vaguely, but for a long time she said nothing more. Crese
"Things here are easier," Crese
"I think I know what you mean. We remain apart here-Qirsi and Eandi, I mean. We come together in trade and in warfare, and in little else."
"Yes! Precisely. In the Forelands, it's different. We all live and work together."
"Do you miss that?"
Something in the way the woman asked the question made Crese
She looked down at her hands, making her decision.
"I know what it is you want me to say," Crese
F'Solya stared at her for several moments. "You're very brave," she said at last. "I know many Qirsi-many Fal'Borna even-who would have lied had they been in your position. Thank you for telling me the truth."
Crese
"You might think carefully about being so honest with others." "I've offended you."
"No, you've honored me. But others may not feel the same way."
Grinsa had warned her about this. He'd been trying to tell her since they set foot in the Southlands that life here would be complicated and difficult in ways she couldn't even anticipate. And of course he'd been right. No surprise there.
"I say this to caution you," F'Solya said. "I didn't mean to anger you."
"I'm not angry."
"I didn't mean to sadden you, either."
She didn't deny it.
F'Solya put down her work. "You were honest with me, and I'm grateful. I'm only trying to be as honest with you. I believe I understand what you were telling me about the Eandi. It's very different from anything I've ever felt toward the dark-eyes, but I understand. But other Fal'Borna won't. Some will think it strange. Others will be offended, and still others will tell you that you're a traitor to our people."
A traitor to our people. How many times had the Weaver called her that, and worse? Perhaps these two lands were more similar than she had imagined. Maybe these same problems could be found in any land shared by Eandi and Qirsi.
"I suppose I should thank you in turn, not only for being so honest with me, but also for offering the warning."
F'Solya smiled sadly. "I probably shouldn't have told you any of this."
"No, it's all right. If we're to remain here, I should know what people are saying about me."
"If I hear others saying it, I'll tell them they're wrong."
Crese
"Thank you" was all she said.
Before they could say more, Crese
"Now where are they off to?"
Turning to look as well, Crese
"Who were they?" she asked.
F'Solya was still staring after them. "Warriors. My I'Joled was with them. The two at the head of the column are called Q'Daer and L'Norr. They're both Weavers."
She remembered Q'Daer from the first day they reached the sept, though she hadn't recognized him.
"Maybe they're hunting?" she offered.
A tight smile crossed her lips. "They're hunting all right, but not as you mean it. That was a war party."
Crese
"More likely the J'Balanar or maybe the Talm'Orast. Don't worry," she added, seeing the look on Crese